Synagogue Lortzingstraße (Detmold)

Already in the 14th century Jews lived in Detmold, who received letters of protection against payment, which secured their permanent settlement. The oldest preserved letter of protection dates back to the year 1500.

The Jewish community in Detmold used the half-timbered synagogue on Exterstraße from 1742 to 1905. At the beginning of the 20th century, the synagogue was built in Lortzingstraße and the old synagogue was sold to innkeeper Wilhelm Schwindt for 19,000 marks.
The inauguration of the new synagogue, which was located near the castle and the court theater, took place on May 17, 1907 with great participation of the Detmold political and social elite. The synagogue contained a meeting room, a schoolroom and a library.

On November 9, 1938, the synagogue was broken into and set on fire under the direction of SA and SS squads. The synagogue burned to the ground. All that remained was a ruin that could no longer be used and was later demolished. It was not until April 17, 1939 that the demolition and removal of the rubble of the ruins of the synagogue was ordered. Some cult objects of the synagogue had survived the destruction and are in the Lippisches Landesmuseum.
Four portal columns have also been preserved and stand today in the courtyard of the old half-timbered synagogue at the memorial established there.

On November 10, 1963, exactly 25 years after the night of the pogrom, two memorial plaques commemorating the destroyed synagogue were erected and inaugurated at the site in Lotzringstraße with the participation of the regional superintendent, the mayor and the secretary general of the Central Council of Jews in Germany.